First Camaro given a spot on the National Historic Vehicle Register, headed for Woodward

Though it rolled down the assembly line at Norwood, Ohio without a name or nameplate and with a simple six-cylinder engine, the car then known only as N100001 was destined to play an outsized role in the rise of Chevrolet’s Camaro and the late Sixties pony car wars, and it’s that outsized role that led the Historic Vehicle Association to add N100001 to the National Historic Vehicle Register.

While Camaro production officially began in August 1966, a month before Chevrolet unveiled its Mustang fighter to the public, Chevrolet needed to know that production would ensue smoothly, so the division set up pilot production lines at its Norwood and Los Angeles assembly plants to build – and in some cases re-build – 52 cars, all equipped with different variations of the many options and body styles Chevrolet would offer for the Camaro.

The first of those cars, according to Camaro pilot car researcher Corey Lawson, was a Granada Gold coupe intended to show the Camaro in a fairly base state, with just the 230-cu.in. six-cylinder, a three-on-the-tree manual transmission, pushbutton AM radio, and manual windows. The only options installed were the whitewall tires, wheel covers, and the deluxe seat belts, along with a special 110-volt interior lighting system for the car’s eventual use as a show car. After Fisher body sent over the shell from Detroit, the Norwood pilot line assembled the car on May 21 and then locked it up for a couple months.

It next saw daylight in late August, as part of the “Men of Action” dealer introduction event in Detroit, from which Chevrolet sent the car to the GM Tech Center in Warren, where Jam Handy shot still photographs and video of the car for use in the press releases that would formally announce the Camaro that September.

Over the next few months, according to Lawson’s research, N100001 traveled to sales conventions in Detroit and Kansas City, but its ultimate destination would be Yukon, Oklahoma – specifically the showroom floor at R.T. Ayers High Performance Chevrolet. Ayers, who first saw the coupe at the dealer introduction event, pulled plenty of strings to get it and subsequently used the drawing power of the first-ever Camaro to lure customers into his dealership for more than two years.

One of those customers, Linda Johnston of Oklahoma City, became the Camaro’s first official owner in April 1969 after paying full price – $2,550 – for the then-three-year-old car. Over the next three decades, the Camaro remained in Oklahoma, passing through a number of owners, most of whom recognized the importance of the car’s serial number. By the 1980s it became a drag car, and then by the late 1990s it became simply another project car.

Photo by Corey Lawson.

That is, until not long before Lawson bought it. His research turned up not only some of the Camaro’s original parts, which were removed when it was converted to a drag car, but also plenty of documentation on the car’s previous owners and on its build process, the latter with the assistance of “Echoes of Norwood” author Phil Borris and the GM Heritage Center.

This summer, it’ll return once again to Detroit as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the start of Camaro production, which will coincide with the annual Woodward Dream Cruise. It will not, however, make the trek up and down Woodward itself, however; the Historic Vehicle Association has arranged to display it in the same glass cube that housed the previous two National Historic Vehicle Register inductees – President Reagan’s Jeep CJ-6 and President Taft’s White steamer – on the National Mall last month.

Selection to the register involves a complete documentation of the vehicle, including a fully referenced narrative of the vehicle’s provenance and full photography, which will then be placed in the Library of Congress. No restrictions are placed on subsequent use or sale of the vehicle.

For more information about the Historic Vehicle Association and the National Historic Vehicle Register, visit HistoricVehicle.org.

ArekMassays:

May 26, 2016 11:10 am

Waltsays:

May 26, 2016 4:11 pm

So true; this car is elegantly designed with beautiful, fine detailing. It’s very pretty, a quality not evident today in any mass-produced car I can think of. New cars are all about attitude rather than gracefulness, as if like they would like to pull you out from behind the wheel and beat you to a pulp.

Dansays:

May 26, 2016 11:58 pm

SixtiesGuysays:

May 28, 2016 7:15 am

Correct, and in that way they are reflective of our society at large. The current Camaro, rather than being a tribute to the first generation’s design, is more of a brutal charicature of it. I wonder if the sort of elegantly simple and sleek approach of the original Camaro (and several other vehicles of that time) will ever return?

300DLUXsays:

May 29, 2016 6:17 pm

Very well said, Walt, regarding the styling of today’s cars. I find Toyota trucks and Lexus SUVs to be particularly menacing in their looks. This first gen Camaro is a work of art by comparison to most of today’s vehicles.

PHANTOM HAWKsays:

May 30, 2016 10:46 am

IMHO many of today’s vehicles look like the mean machines Hollywood and video gamesters are so fond of in their post-atomic World War III/apocalyptic movie/game scenarios…perhaps they are trying to prepare everyone for the worse?

autobug2says:

May 26, 2016 1:01 pm

Art VanDeLaysays:

May 26, 2016 1:20 pm

You are so right Don! I am not impressed by cars which have been completely rebuilt to “original”…. If this car was truly original, I would understand the interest, but how much, if any, of the original car remains???Certainly not the engine, if it was a drag car !!!!
I remember seeing Phil Bonner’s “original” 1964 Ford Thunderbolt being sold at the 1989 Barrett Jackson auction…this confused me because I saw that T-Bolt completely destroyed in a Drag Racing accident !!!
With escalating values for well known drag cars, Restorers found a donor ’64 Fairlane and used “some parts of the original T-Bolt ” to recreate an “original” car … But not really!
As a matter of fact, the Bonner car has made the show circuit and even T-Bolt reunions over the years, even though it’s a “rebody”… A kind word for clone !!!
Just my opinion as a serious purist !!

spd rdrsays:

May 26, 2016 5:24 pm

Dougsays:

May 26, 2016 10:40 pm

That reminds me of the bit about the original hatchet George Washington used to cut the cherry tree. It’s the original except the head was replaced once and the handle was replaced three times. I guess we need to be careful using the term “original”.

SixtiesGuysays:

May 28, 2016 6:50 pm

PHANTOM HAWKsays:

May 29, 2016 3:18 pm

Funny you should mention the serial plate.

Back in the 80s, a local family had a 1964 Studebaker GT Hawk which had been in the family since new but had a severe case of the tin worm. The owner located a solid parts car, stripped it to the body shell than transferred the ID/Serial plate from the rusty hulk to the parts shell…easy to do with 60s spot welded plates. [I’m sure the DMV would have looked unkindly on the swap if they had known.]

He then reassembled the GT using as many parts as possible from his family’s car to ‘keep it original.’ Guess it was about 51/49 when he got it done. ..but VERY NICE after completion.

starsailingsays:

May 31, 2016 5:20 pm

Gary Nicholssays:

May 26, 2016 9:54 am

Cool and interesting article. One question, was “video” really shot of the car in those days? Unless it was done in an indoor TV studio setting – and not on location – I suspect a motion picture (film) camera was used, and the film footage was then edited / converted to video later for television advertising. GN

Dougsays:

May 26, 2016 9:59 am

Chip Tatersays:

May 26, 2016 11:02 am

Rare car ownersays:

May 26, 2016 11:46 am

Yup, floor shift as standard equipment that’s one thing that made the Mustang a better value as a completely base model. BUT it allowed the Camaro to have an artificially lower base price. “If you want a floor shift, that’s gonna cost a little more”

The 1964-66 Mustangs also had full wheelcovers as standard equipment, they became optional for 67. All mechanisms to adjust the “base” price. Back when a buyer actually selected options (rather than today’s packages) it was common practice and made it difficult to compare cars based on price alone.

Muffy Bennettsays:

May 26, 2016 10:21 am

I was honored to have this piece displayed in my facility briefly; every time I’d look at it, I’d get chills knowing its DNA is in every Camaro on the road today. Congrats to Corey, Phil, and his team for being selected for the registry!
-Muffy Bennett

Nelson Csays:

April 18, 2017 9:19 am

don homuthsays:

May 26, 2016 10:30 am

It’s astonishing to find an early Camaro with an I6, let alone the first one.
I know of None in this area. They were pretty much all hot-rodded. (Same thing with the Mustangs. A ton were sold with the 6, but not very many left around.)
I have heard of one back in the Midwest that had a bunch of the suspension/brake/interior options, a 4-speed and a 6. Bought for a high school kid who’s father didn’t want him to be racing, but wanted something sporty and driveable.
Word I got was that he kept it umodified, and has since passed it onto his own son.
I have just No idea where it might be now. But that’s got to be one sweet ride.

May 26, 2016 10:34 am

autobug2says:

May 26, 2016 1:03 pm

76Impalasays:

May 26, 2016 10:35 am

I took an early Camaro out for a test drive in the ’60’s. It had the three speed manual and the ‘big’ six…think it was 250 cubes. It moved out fairly well, but not in comparison to my ’67 Camaro RS with a 4 speed and 327.

Paulsays:

May 26, 2016 10:36 am

The “3 on the tree” surprised me in that I thought all 3 speed manuals were on the floor. I owned a ’67 Camaro convertible (maroon) with the optional 250 cu. inch 6 engine with the 3 speed on the floor with manual steering and brakes, just the way I wanted it. Loved driving it for several years to 110,000 miles, and was still going strong when I sold it. Top down driving was the best!

May 26, 2016 10:37 am

starsailingsays:

May 26, 2016 10:40 am

Zero complaints on these 60’s Camaros. Priced perfect for what you bought back then. Fun, sporty, economic, and good looking. It would be fun to see pics of the above car as it was raced in it’s later life.
My Deputy Sheriff roommate in 1977 had just picked up a 67 blue, six cylinder, radio with white walls for the sticker price still stuck to the window. His mother worked in care giving in a Mpls Old folks home. The car was in heated underground parking lot covered with 2 blankets. It had 3,000 some miles on it. The woman could not drive anymore, as if she was driving ever! The car was beyond perfect. Steve used as a daily driver to work, but the cheapskate never took the car any other place. We had motorcycles back then further causing the car to sit in our heated garage, I had a Red /white 62 Bel Air Bubbletop and 69 Riv we drove when not riding the Kawasakis. I was trying to convince Steve to yank the motor for a 69 Z28 302. Well he had the rear suspension leaf springs changed to Z28 specs and more. The car rode like jacked up solid suspension zero/ give. I had done his 66 Impala with air shocks and spring spacers back in high school, he wanted the ride like that again. I wouldn’t do it. I would do the engine , trans, then rear suspension last. Geez the potholes in Mpls knocked your teeth out driving in vehicles with soft suspension, this 67 did the same just pulling out of the garage! Was such a beautiful car, but riding in it feeling like being in a buckboard wagon was horrible. If it had a 302 etc in it, suspension would have serve a purpose. Even the 3 girlfriends he had at the same time, didn’t want to ride in it because of the ride. He would grab my spare keys for my cars and take off with one of them! Back in the 70’s early 80’s..auto speculators would pass up a 6 cyl Camaro without blinking an eye. Today it would be like gold.

Larry Youngsays:

May 26, 2016 10:56 am

dukeisdukesays:

May 26, 2016 11:08 am

I love it. One of our neighbors bought a new ’67 Camaro, a white one with a 230, and three-on-the-tree, the first Camaro I ever sat in. I looked at the HVA site, but this car isn’t listed on there yet. There’s a lot I’d like to know about it – does it now have the original 230 and three-speed? How much was it cut up when it was converted for drag racing? Was it tubbed?

One thing I find interesting is the wheel covers, that have no paint on the centers – is that a pilot thing?

Daniel Strohlsays:

May 26, 2016 11:40 am

Jim Mcsays:

May 26, 2016 11:40 am

Kind of interesting that there are no badges on it at all identifying it as a Camaro. I’m also surprised that the pilot car would be the most basic of all Camaro’s. One would think that Chevrolet would want the pilot car , the one that receives all the press attention; to be loaded to the gills with the V8, 4-speed, convertible, RS package, etc… One would think that they’d want the pilot car to be more bold and “in your face” than a plain, gold, 6-cylinder, 3-speed secretary coupe.
As for my opinions on the National Historic Vehicle Registry program, I’ll keep those to myself. That could potentially open a can of worms causing political opinions to spew forth, including my own. I will say that I would not allow any of my vehicles to be placed on that registry, however I don’t think they’d be as interested in one-owner a 2006 Ford work truck.

PHANTOM HAWKsays:

May 26, 2016 3:04 pm

If I recall, the Mustang was also low key at introduction…AND…it was aimed at young females and families. The 60/70s social revolution was still in its infancy and the audience for big buck ‘halo’ cars was [relatively] small compared to buyers who needed basic transportation but didn’t have the means, or had better use for their funds, than buying a big buck toy…BUT…they wanted to ‘look good’ getting to their destination.

Dougsays:

May 26, 2016 10:53 pm

I remember the ad slogan, “the single six for the single girl”, I think that was used for the Mustang. Carroll Shelby didn’t want to use the Mustang as a platform for his muscle car because he said it was “a secretary’s car”. Glad he was persuaded to use it after all. I don’t remember much at all about the early Camaros being targeted for any particular group like that.

Larry Fordsays:

May 27, 2016 10:43 pm

dukeisdukesays:

May 26, 2016 4:46 pm

It does have emblems on the front (on the header panel), and on the trunklid – just none on the sides. And it may be the first pilot car, but it’s just one of 52, in different trim levels (Sport Coupe, RS, SS, SS/RS), and coupes and convertibles.

Gary G.says:

May 26, 2016 11:54 am

Jason Herringsays:

May 26, 2016 12:40 pm

Could’ve been worse–the car could’ve been gutted and turned into a short-track Modified racer! Paved or dirt track, a fat tire under each fender, gutted interior. I bought a book recently on Northeastern Modified racers of the ’60s and ’70s, and there are more than a few Camaros in it. There’s even a photo of one paved track Camaro that the racer left the factory VINYL top on it (and that car also appears to be Granada Gold, too!)
I suspect that most of the older 6-cylinder Camaros were either turned into race cars, refitted with V8s and either rodded or raced,…or used as parts cars for “more valuable” V8 restoration projects.

BugDudesays:

May 26, 2016 12:07 pm

I know a man that owns a 67 Camaro Convertible with it’s original 6 cylinder. It’s immaculate. I’d rather have it than one that’s been cloned into a SS because you just don’t see any of them in shows anymore sporting an original 6. If you see a 67 Camaro in a car show anymore, it’s been rodded or cloned. What a shame. Unfortunately, the man I know with the vert won’t part with it for the same reason…it’s getting more and more rare and valuable as an unmolested car every year.

Scott Hsays:

May 26, 2016 12:14 pm

It was a drag car all tore up and customized. And even then it could be restored. Oh the blaspheme! Good article and it proves that owner customizing choices along the way have nothing to do with anything.

Carol Duboissays:

May 27, 2016 2:39 pm

Scott…. It wasn’t so much restored as it was replaced!
Virtually anything can be “restored” these days as all the parts are available thru multiple sources. You could virtually build an entire Camaro from a mail order catalogue !!

Spockian Logicsays:

May 26, 2016 1:39 pm

Nicksays:

May 26, 2016 1:58 pm

My best friend in high school bought the first Camaro in Southeastern Michigan in the fall of 1966. It was also gold, but a 327. We rode around in it for the rest of the year without seeing another. We drove it to Daytona, Florida for spring and drove it on the beach. We never saw another one the entire trip. By summer 1967 they were all over the place.

Jim Mertzsays:

May 26, 2016 2:18 pm

Paul DiNatalesays:

May 26, 2016 2:27 pm

i would like to know what number the first v8 4barrel car was and what motor it had. i remember my friend gary from queens village N.Y. bought a white camaro with a 396 4 speed but was it offered in 67?

PHANTOM HAWKsays:

May 27, 2016 6:24 pm

Richardsays:

May 26, 2016 2:36 pm

Since the Camaro was introduced in reaction to the Mustang, and the Mustang was such a phenomenon, one wonders why they chose a Camaro (as worthy a candidate as this one undoubtedly is) before inducting the first Mustang. The first serial-numbered Mustang was a convertible. The first Mustang notchback to carry a serial number was displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum on the introduction of the current model. It was assembled from miscellaneous sources at a pre-production facility in February 1964, and originally shipped to Vancouver, B. C. It was unaccountable diverted to Whitehorse Yukon Territory, where they had no clue what it was. They used it for a demonstrator (a manual six – in the Yukon in winter!). It knocked around Canada and Alaska, and was eventually found in New Mexico by its current owner, Bob Fria.

Patrick (pjmk65)says:

May 26, 2016 4:12 pm

I agree Richard. No disrespect to the Camaro, but the Mustang had an earlier and greater influence on the Pony car movement. There is a good chance the Camaro would not have been produced if the Mustang had not caught on.

PHANTOM HAWKsays:

May 27, 2016 6:01 pm

According to an April 17, 2014 article by Matt Anderson, Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford, pre-production Mustang Serial number 5F08F100001, was purchased on April 14, 1964 [three days before the official April 17 street date] by Eastern Provincial Airlines pilot Stanley Tucker [a Canadian] at George Parsons Ford, in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Ford re-acquired the #1 pony car on March 2, 1966 when Anderson met with Ford vice-president (and Mustang father) Lee Iacocca, to take delivery of the one millionth Mustang built, a silver Frost 1966 Mustang, built to Anderson’s specifications, in exchange for Mustang Number One. [Wonder where the millionth Mustang is now?]

PHANTOM HAWKsays:

May 27, 2016 6:05 pm

OOPS…SORRY…got names confused….second paragraph should read

Ford re-acquired the #1 pony car on March 2, 1966 when TUCKER met with Ford vice-president (and Mustang father) Lee Iacocca, to take delivery of the one millionth Mustang built, a silver Frost 1966 Mustang, built to TUCKER’S specifications, in exchange for Mustang Number One. [Wonder where the millionth Mustang is now?]

Davesays:

May 26, 2016 6:42 pm

The Henry Ford Museum in Detroit has a Mustang they say is the #1. There are a lot of serial #1 first production cars in that huge place from different manufacturers along with almost everything else you would ever want to see.
An incredible place to visit.

ArekMassays:

May 28, 2016 7:34 am

Absolutely agree, it is a gear head paradise, and also a paradise for anyone interested in the technological and industrial advancement of the country. Stationary engines, appliances, cars, everything! The #1 Mustang is remarkable in its un-remarkableness… OK condition but obviously well used, not pristine by any measure… just nice.

Carol Duboissays:

May 26, 2016 6:58 pm

I don’t see the value in a completely restored car, which retains little, if any, of its original parts, just because the Vin is #1.
If it were an intact original body it would have great significance,but to build a car around a Vin# diminishes the cache.
A case in point: The 1970 LS-6 Chevelle convertible raced by Ray Allen sold at auction in the muscle car crazy 2006 Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale for 1.1 Million…. After the sale, detailed information began to emerge of the car’s provenance …. The original engine, trans and rear were long gone … The body panels and interior were all replaced, the decals were vinyl stick on, not paint as original …
Subsequent sales have hovered at $250K…. Why??? You’re buying a rebodied rendition of what the car used to be … Not exactly a piece of history IMHO!

John Slusarsays:

May 26, 2016 7:35 pm

One of my great memories of those tender years was an opportunity to see one of those first Camaro prototypes before they hit the public show rooms. New car announcements were big deals then, and teen-agers like myself would try to peek through the papered-up windows at the dealers who had the cars on their floors a day or two before the introduction date. Super secret!!! I was working my first real job then, in the engineering department at the Harnischfeger Corporation. My boss, John Gottwald, happened to be the President of the Milwaukee Chapter of the S.A.E., and he was well aware that I was a “total car nut”. Each month, the SAE held a Tech Session at its regular monthly meeting, usually hosted by the GM Tech and Training Center, in nearby Wauwatosa, and John would take me along with him, a real “perk” for a guy like me. I can’t remember the exact date of a very special presentation that was moved to the top floor penthouse ballroom of the prestigious Pfister Hotel & Tower in downtown Milwaukee, but it was at least two weeks before the public showing of the new Camaro. Upon our arrival in the great circular room, in the middle of the floor/stage was a covered car…the all new Camaro. What a thrill to see it before anyone else that I knew! After the car was revealed, we were ushered into a theater to see a film and slide show presentation about the engineering, design and development of the Camaro, “The first car ever designed with the aid of a COMPUTER!” That was the pitch, any way, and it was so neat to see animation graphics that described how the computers could receive and analyze the frame and suspension element data and predict the stress loads, defining the strength of the materials necessary to do their tasks, under load. I felt like some kind of space scientist. Ever since then, the Camaro has probably occupied a higher spot on my spectrum, as the long term result of that exciting and inspirational night.

psychedsays:

May 26, 2016 10:10 pm

At 16 years old, and out looking for my first “on the road” car, I came across a light yellow, base ’67 Camaro coupe with 6 cylinder and Powerglide for sale at a local garage. It had gold vinyl interior, column shift, AM radio, and nothing else. I wanted that car SO bad, it was absolutely beautiful! But it was several hundred dollars more than I had, and my Dad wouldn’t spring for the rest. Instead, I wound up with a ’62 BelAir four door with a 283. That was a good car, but I never forgot that Camaro. I still wonder whatever happened to it.

May 27, 2016 1:26 am

Scott Thomsonsays:

May 27, 2016 12:57 pm

Remember well when the Camaro debuted, my senior year in high school. Our circle of Bow Tie partisans was delighted to hear that Chevy had come up with an answer to the Mustang. (That fall, I dated a girl who had a 65 ’stang fastback when we met, and before we broke up got a new 67 convertible for her graduation present.) I’m biased, OK, but I think it’s a better-looking design than the Ford, in no small part because of the use of styling cues from the second-generation Corvair that had debuted a couple years earlier. Still a really sharp-looking car.

Jim Vsays:

May 28, 2016 9:47 am

I didn’t see what percentage of the original body pieces remain on the restored car, but if it’s the original body (body #1) then I think it’s great that they saved this car. The worst thing to altar the originality was when it was turned into a drag car, and it looks like that owner saved any original parts that he removed. Yeah maybe it’s not original anymore, but it is Camaro #1 which I think is significant. I’d like to see it a Woodward in the Chevrolet display that they have every year. I’ve mostly been a Mustang owner over the years, but I love early Camaros, having owned a nice 72 SS that I wish I still had.

diskojoesays:

May 29, 2016 5:54 pm

Paul DiNatalesays:

May 30, 2016 5:34 pm

I had a brother in law who bought one of the first yanko 427 camaro’s and schemed to pay it off by winning street races (Queens,N.Y.). He used his fathers truck company as a credit for the bank along with a down payment of the company cash. Well, no one with brains raced him and the car was repoed. His father flipped and refused to pay off on this “dream to riches and a free car.” Shortly after that my sister divorced him. I remember it was a hot looking car,might of been a black color, but he did not have it long after he failed to make payments.

Joesays:

June 1, 2016 1:12 pm

Spring of 68 when I was 16, my dad ordered a new 68 Camaro. He only wanted 1 option, AM pushbutton radio. I gave him the $11.50 to add a floor shifter. It was same color but called Harvest Gold in 68. Had a lot of fun in that car. Wish I had bought it when he sold in 72 but by then I was only in to V8s and 4 speeds. The buyer painted it ugly root beer brown.

Gerrysays:

May 25, 2017 7:12 pm

Great seeing all the comments, I’m still driving my 67 convertible 230 3 speed on the column. I bought it my senior year in high school 77. Always starts after 50 years. It’s pretty much still original. I thought of putting in a V8 and making upgrades but I couldn’t change how perfect it was. I do have one problem 2 sons who want me to leave it to them.